


Quintessence Bending

by genericfanatic



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crossover, F/F, Illustrations, PTSD
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-25
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2018-12-06 21:36:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11609430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/genericfanatic/pseuds/genericfanatic
Summary: Korra just wanted to deal with this one lost human in the Spirit World before going about her day with her lovely girlfriend. The lost human, however is nothing like she expected. His name is Takashi Shirogane, and he keeps going on about how he's a 'Paladin' and how he was just fighting someone named 'Zarkon.'Korra and Shiro must work together to contact Shiro's team....and also to work through some of their own mutual problems.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO ALL!!!!! This is a crossover that I am working on with the amazing [keelan-666](http://keelan-666.tumblr.com/) who did the illustration for this fic! It sorta came from the idea that a lot of things in Legend of Korra and Voltron (beyond just the studio and artwork) are similar and how they can exist in the same world, and it sorta snowballed into this. ((Also, I just really, really wanted to work a collab with keelan, but don't tell him I said that))
> 
> Obviously, since season 3's coming out soon (how 'bout them trailers, huh?) this is going to be an AU, but it might not be as weirdly-alternate as you think. It'll still include all the canon of legend of korra, and seasons 1 and 2 of Voltron. 
> 
> So! Please enjoy! my tumblr is [dork-empress](http://dork-empress.tumblr.com/)

“You didn’t have to come, you know,” Korra said, “This isn’t a vacation, I just have to do a quick check in.”

“I know,” Asami said strapping in her gear to her belt and boots. Asami never could pack just for day trips. Korra guessed that when you have an airship to carry around your stuff with you, you didn’t need to worry as much about packing space. “But I LIKE going to the spirit world, you never take me there as often as I’d like.”

Korra’s mouth falls open, offended, though not as offended as she showed Asami, at the accusation, “We go every year!” Their first vacation had started something of a tradition, one that the both of them refused to interrupt for anything short of an apocalyptic event. In the 3 years they’d been going, that had thankfully not been an issue.

“And it’s not as often as I’d like!” Asami said, buckling her last buckle. “Now come on, don’t you have some Avatar duties to fulfill or something?” She walked to the door like it was somehow KORRA delaying them, and not herself when Korra was ready to leave nearly an hour ago. In mentally planning her day, Korra had been expecting to actually be BACK from her visit by now allowing her and Asami to do other things, but no. If Asami had one failing as a business executive, it was her planning. Not that Korra was great either, but she wasn’t a CEO.

Korra sighed, unable to really be mad at her, and slinked behind her, walking out the apartment. “Look, the spirits said there was just some guy who got lost out there. We’ll be in and out before you know it.”

“The spirits also said he was scaring them!” Asami protested, pushing the button on the elevator door. “This guy could be dangerous!”

“What, so dangerous you think the Avatar can’t handle him?” Korra smiled, hands on her hips in her best hero pose.

Asami snorted as the elevator button dinged, which made Korra screw up her face in a frown. That was not the response she was looking for. Still giggling, Asami kissed Korra’s cheek, completely dissolving any of Korra’s irritation. “Well, if you really don’t NEED me…” She turned away, as though she would really walk away from this chance.

“Now, I didn’t say that,” Korra said, grabbing Asami’s hand before she could pull away.

Asami giggled again, letting herself be pulled into the elevator doors. “Come on, dear, the spirit world awaits!”

Korra sighed again as Asami dragged her hand to the satomobile where they could drive down to the portal from their apartment.

The portal to the spirit world was more or less blocked off to the general public now, specifically so that people wouldn’t go in and get lost in there. Also to at least try and prevent dangerous spirits from getting out, but honestly it was hard to get spirits to listen to things like police tape. It was a pretty new system, and therefore lacked any sort of…structure…allowing accidents to happen more frequently than Korra cared for.

But, these missions were simple enough. And Asami was right, going into the spirit world was nice, almost relaxing. She was very set in her theory she had faced enough dangers and trials for her lifetime. Surely there was some…quota or something she had fulfilled. Like, ‘that’s enough near world ending events, thanks. I’m done now, wait another 100 years or something for when I’m dead and there’s a new avatar.’

She knew that wasn’t how it worked, though.

She nodded at the guard to the entrance. He smiled and gave a respectful, “Avatar, Ms. Sato.”

“Hi, Lee,” She was pretty sure his name was Lee. He didn’t seem to be protesting the fact, so she assumed she got it right. “A spirit came by this morning to tell me about some lost traveler?”

“Oh, that’s what it was about,” Lee said, looking over at the portal “I can’t really make sense of these guys most of the time.”

Korra shrugged, “That’s my job, I guess.”

With that, Korra and Asami stepped through, transporting themselves to the other world.

The spirit world seemed ordinary enough (as ordinary as it ever was), so that was good. Asami, despite having been here multiple times, gasped in wonder, gazing up at a parade of butterflysparrows passing overhead. Korra knew she had a mission, but couldn’t help taking just a few seconds to smile at her. Surely no spirit could be as beautiful as that smile, still filled with wonder and excitement.

Humming contentedly, she pulled Asami along to a nearby spirit, a disgruntled fruithog who tended to stay near the portal. “Hi fruithog. Any sign of which way the lost human went?”

The fruithog scowled up at her. “Lost human?” he said, “No lost human came through the portal. Unless you’re lost. Are you lost?”

Korra sighed, clenching her teeth. This wasn’t exactly an atypical reaction, but it still got her irritated. “No, I’m not lost. A dragonfly bunny spirit came to me earlier saying there was a lost human in here that was scaring her. Do you know where the human went?”

The fruithog harrumphed. “No human went through this portal that didn’t go back. Not in days.” He leaned back, like he was sunbathing or something, clearly done with the conversation.

Korra and Asami were not, though. “They might have come from the north or south portals,” Asami suggested.

“Look, just,” Korra said, “Any humans, any humans that may be around here?”

The fruithog tapped his chin. “Well….there’s one right there!” He pointed at Asami.

Korra twitched, digging her fingernails into her palms to stop herself from strangling him. “I didn’t save the world, like, 4 times for this…”Asami giggled.

“Harold!” Another fruithog came out from a log, “Are you being intentionally difficult again?”

“Not on purpose!” He said.

The girl fruithog grumbled something under her breath, “Sorry about him, dearies, my brother’s always like this.” She stuck her tongue out at the boy fruithog, “What can I help you with?”

“We’re looking for a human,” Korra said, “Something about causing a disturbance, probably lost, have you heard anything?”

“Oh! That human!” she said, “I’m glad someone called you, why, he was just running around absolutely screaming his head off, and moving around his glowing…arm… thing…”

Asami and Korra exchanged a confused look. Glowing arm? “A fire bender, maybe?” Asami suggested. Korra shrugged.

“Well whatever it was, he dropped this.” She dug out a strange black helmet from the bushes. “It flew off of him and nearly knocked me over. It quite ruined my morning jog,” The fruithog said. “I’ll take you to where I last saw him, you’ll have to follow the path of destruction from there.”

Asami picked up the helmet. It was strange, like no material she had ever seen. Maybe some type of metal, but…no, that didn’t seem quite right.

“You all have to go?” Harold the fruithog said, staring forlornly, suddenly not so pleased at the idea of the conversation ending. “But, why doesn’t your friend stay here with me?” Harold smiled up at Asami, wiggling his eyebrows.

Asami cringed unsure of what to do. “Are you blind?” the girl fruithog asked, “Harold, they’re lesbians.”

Korra couldn’t help snorting at that. Asami shuffled her feet, slightly embarrassed, “Technically bisexuals…”

“She’s not into you!” the girl fruithog said. She turned back to Korra and Asami, “Come along, dears, this way.”

Giggling, Korra and Asami followed her. Korra leaned over to whisper into Asami’s ear, “what kind of a name is ‘Harold?’”

 

“Okay, Shirogane,” Shiro said to himself, “No need to panic, you’re just staring down a 15 foot hamster. You’ve faced worse.”

The hamster leaned down over him. Shiro taking a step back. “Uhhh….” He said, “Can you…can you understand me?” The hamster tilted its head. “Are you a, uh, friendly? Giant hamster?” He raised his metallic arm, to try and pat the hamster on the nose.

The hamster looked questioningly at the hand for a moment, before leaning down….and chomping down at the wrist.

“Wha-HEY!” Shiro said, trying to pull his hand back. He had already lost his helmet, he wasn’t about to lose this too. The hamster held on, stubbornly. “Hey! Let go! That’s mine!” He put his foot on the hamster’s nose, trying desperately to pull back. The hamster shook him, trying to get his new chew toy loose from the loud person holding it.

Doing so, unfortunately, put quite a bit of strain on Shiro’s socket. “Ow! Quiznak! Okay, you asked for it!” He lit up his arm and the hamster recoiled instantly with a roar-like screech. “Sorry, I tried to warn you—WHOA!”

Using all his military training, Shiro hit the deck, barely managing to avoid a swipe from the hamster’s claws. The hamster landed on all fours, it’s teeth uncomfortably close to Shiro’s head.

Shiro scrambled away from it, making a noise he would not be proud of later. As soon as he got his legs under him he hightailed it out of there. Granted, he was not mortally wounded like the last time he was stranded on an alien planet, but this was up there for strangest and most dangerous situations he’s been in. Emphasis on strangest.

The trees were…weird. Some twisting around each other, some were just like, giant lily pads, some were old and covered in vines. Some…well, some MOVED. And the creatures, Shiro couldn’t even begin to explain. They came in all shapes and colors and sizes, some vaguely recognizable as Earth creatures, but none were quite right. He swore he heard some of them talking, but every time he got close, they ran away.

Shiro had been planning on walking until he found a hole to rest up in for nightfall, but night never fell here. He couldn’t really see the sun, despite it being as bright out as if it were noon. Stranger still, he had a hard time trying to map out his location. Occasionally he tried to backtrack, but found himself in a completely new place. Shiro was always good with his spatial awareness, it was unusual for him to be completely lost. It was almost as though the world itself was moving around.

Out of the corner of his eye, Shiro saw an empty riverbed. Darting behind a tree, he jumped into it, pressing himself against the side so the hamster couldn’t see him.

He waited, patient, listening as the roar-like screech passed him by, and the pounding footsteps started to fade away. He sighed in relief.

“There he is!”

Shiro instantly was on alert again, standing with his arm ready. The owner of the voice scampered away, leaving behind her companions, two women.

Two human women

“You…” he said, putting down his arm and staring in shock, “You’re human!” he said, shocked.

“Uhh…yeah,” The dark-skinned woman said. “I’m Avatar Korra, this is Asami Sato. We heard you got lost out here.” Shiro kept looking between them, confused. “We can guide you back to the portal, if you’d like.”

“Portal? What portal?” He demanded, “What planet is this?”

Korra and Asami looked at each other like he was speaking a different language. “You’re in the spirit world,” Korra said, slowly, “Did you, I don’t know, hit your head or something?”

Asami leaned over to Korra, whispering, “Look at his arm…” she said, just loud enough for Shiro to hear, “It’s made out of metal.”

Shiro looked at it as well. She didn’t seem to recognize the making of it, nor the symbol on his armor. “This world…the spirit world…is it controlled by the Galra?”

“The who?” Korra said. Okay, so probably they didn’t know about them, that was a good sign…unless they were lying. “Look, why don’t we take you back to Republic City and we can compare notes there, alright?”

Shiro hesitated. “Where is that?” Shiro asked.

Korra sighed, frustrated. “It’s on the other side of the portal, come on.” Shiro didn’t move. “You know, Republic City? Capitol of the United Republic of nations?” Shiro didn’t react. “Earth, do you know the planet Earth?”

Shiro froze. “This…” he said softly… “This is Earth?”

“Yes, this is Earth,” Korra said. “Well, no, THIS isn’t Earth, this is the spirit world. But if you want to go to Earth, you can follow me.”

Korra took a half step back, indicating the path behind her. Shiro hesitated for one second, detailing all the ways this could be a trap. But if it was, it was at least better than staying put and getting more lost in this strange world.

He followed after her.

“Here,” The other woman, Asami said, “The fruithog said you dropped this,” Asami handed him his helmet, which he took gratefully, putting it on his head.

“Thank you.”

“What is it made of?” She asked.

“To be honest, I’m not sure,” He answered. “It was made by the Alteans 10,000 years ago. I think its some kind of plastic composite, or maybe carbon fiber.”

“The Alteans?”

“An ancient race of aliens that was almost completely wiped out by the Galra. There are only two left.” He might as well have said it was the name of his second head by the way Korra and Asami exchanged strange glances. “When we reach Earth, I’ll need to contact the Galaxy Garrison. They’re my best shot for trying to communicate with my team, I need to get back to them.”

Korra looked at him patronizing. “Sure…we’ll help you contact this, uh, Galaxy Garrison. Mr…I actually don’t know your name.”

“Shiro,” he said, “Takashi Shirogane, pilot of the Kerberos mission and now the Black Paladin of Voltron, defender of the universe.”

Korra nodded slowly, not believing him. That was alright, a number of aliens he’d encountered hadn’t heard of Voltron, and he knew no one on Earth had. He’d have a lot of explaining to do once he reached the Garrison. It wasn’t a meeting he was looking forward too after his last encounter with the Garrison, but at least he was conscious and could defend himself this time. He just needed to reach their communications, and pray to anyone listening he’d be able to reach Lion Castle and tell them his location.

Korra and Asami led him to a giant glowing pillar thing. Honestly it kinda looked like the images of DNA strands he had been shown in school. “Alright, here we are,” Korra said. Shiro hesitated again. He didn’t like the idea of not being able to see the other side before going through. “It’s perfectly safe, Asami, show him.”

Asami nodded, stepping into the pillar of light. In practically an instant, she disappeared. “Come on,” Korra said, “I’ll go with you.” Korra extended her hand.

Still hesitant, Shiro took it, and stepped into the pillar.

The feeling was actually rather similar to going through a wormhole, a tightening in his gut and a tingle on his skin. When he opened his eyes and stepped out of the pillar again, he found himself with Korra and Asami, standing in a pit of vines.

Around him was a city, and a river, and a sky with a sun that made sense. Everything was far more familiar and normal than it had been in the ‘spirit world,’ but in that way it was even more strange. Everything around him was just…just slightly off, to the point he had trouble putting his finger on it.

“This…” he muttered, looking around, “This isn’t Earth.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shiro and Korra have disagreements as to what Earth is

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys I KNOW its been a while, but hopefully I'll be able to update more regularly from now on AND I'll be able to incorporate stuff from later seasons! This is all canon until proven otherwise. BTW how about that season 5, huh?

“What do you mean, ‘this isn’t Earth’?” Korra said, looking around, trying to see if there was something out of place. There wasn’t. “Are you from a different---WHOA!”

She turned back to Shiro, who in the 2 seconds she had looked away squared up against her, his metal hand glowing purple. “What is this place? Who are you really?”

Korra raised her own fists, eyeing the arm, wondering what it could do. “Easy buddy, I just did what you asked. You wanted to go to Earth, this is Earth.”

“This is NOT--!” He shouted, before taking deep breaths, “Why do you keep saying ‘Earth’? Are you working with the druids? Did you steal my memories?”

Korra could only gape at him, “What….what are you even talking about? This IS—“

“Stop. Lying.” He said, aggressively, stepping forward “I’ve been gone from Earth for a long time, but I know there’s no place like this there. Where is the Galaxy Garrison?”

“Buddy, I have no idea what you’re saying,” Korra said, eyeing the arm and reaching out to it. The metal wouldn’t bend. Whatever it was made of was as pure as platinum. Or something more pure… “put down the arm and we can talk—“

He swiped at her, slicing his hand flat. He was nowhere close to hitting her, but it felt more like a test of her defenses combined with a warning shot than an attack. Well, consider her warned. 

Korra swiftly brought up her hand and closed it into a fist. With her movement, the ground below Shiro’s arm rose to the command, closing around the metal to encapsulate it completely. Shiro pulled away on instinct, staring in shock at her, like the guy had never seen bending before or something, but he was sufficiently stuck. “Well, then, if you’re done with that—“ Korra started, but Shiro wasn’t listening.

Shiro screwed up his face, concentrating on the arm. Within the rock, a spot glowed purple, and that was Korra’s only indication to duck before the rock shattered, shards flying in every direction, and Shiro pulled himself free. Korra spared a quick glance to Asami who was herding a panicked Lee to cover. Good, now the fight could begin for real.

With several well practiced punches and kicks, Korra sent slabs of rock at Shiro’s head in an effort to knock him out. Shiro punched and slashed each one in sequence, shattering the rocks so they fell to the ground. He pressed his advantage with every step, trying to bring the fight in close enough for hand-to-hand, but Korra wasn’t having it. She backed away, keeping the space in between them. These rocks were getting her nowhere. She needed some space.

She switched up her technique, punching forward and sending a fireball at him. He crossed his arms to protect his face. As the wave of flame hit him, his feet slid back, leaving tracks in the dirt. 

When the flame died down and he lowered his arms, Korra could see an odd, clear mask had lowered from Shiro’s helmet, encapsulating his face for protection. Through the mask, Korra could see the look of shock. 

Korra pushed forward again, and again, trying to gain space. The fire did not burn him, but seemed to impact him, at least. This could only lead to a stalemate, though. She needed a way to actually stop him, take him down…

She kept pushing, alternating gusts of wind and fireballs to direct him where she wanted. Shiro was struggling, Korra could see, trying to anchor himself in the ground so he could resist her. But the ground was her friend, not his. 

With a flick of the wrist, the ground flipped up and sent Shiro into the air. A couple changes in the wind ensured he landed where Korra wanted him to. He sprawled on his back, struggling to sit up and get back in the fight, but he was too late. 

Korra summoned water from the river, lifting Shiro into the air and spinning the water into a tight ball. His mask allowed him to keep breathing, but she could see in his eyes his fear and shock. She considered freezing him, but didn’t want him to break out again. He even tried, slashing through the water, but it simply moved out of his way.

Korra sighed. Now what to do with him? As she was thinking, she didn’t see the jet pack on his back, firing up.

Before she could react, Shiro launched himself at her, bursting through the water ball and using himself as a projectile to knock her down. 

Korra was dazed as she hit the ground, dirt and dust rising in puffs around her and spirit vines digging into her back. Shiro took advantage of the opportunity, correctly deducing her powers seem to come from her movements and so attempted to restrain her. Sitting behind her he held her arms down with one hand. He pressed his metal hand to her throat, having it glow just enough for her to feel the strange steady warmth emanating from it. “Don’t. Move.” He instructed. 

Korra froze in place, taking deep breaths. She thought quickly…she still had access to her legs, so bending her way out was probably the easiest option, but she had to do it in a way that would minimize the chance of him burning her. Sure, she could heal the burn, probably, but she wasn’t certain, and she really didn’t like not being certain.

Just as she was ready to make a move, Shiro spasmed behind her and fell back. Whipping around, she saw Asami with her electric glove on Shiro’s shoulder. He keeled over, unconscious. 

Korra met Asami’s proud gaze. “I had that!” She protested. 

“You sure looked like you did with his hand on your neck,” Asami said, smug as she removed her glove. 

Korra rolled her eyes and looked down at Shiro. This…strange man with abilities she didn’t understand. She held the metal arm in her hand, considering it now that it seemed to be less lethal. “Where did you come from?” She whispered, now looking up to his scarred face.

“Korra…” Asami said, nodding up above the pit. Along the edges, a crowd had gathered while Korra was fighting, no doubt just as intrigued with the strangeness of Shiro as Korra was. 

Korra thought quickly again. “We need to get him out of here.” Asami nodded, leaning down to help Korra carry him. 

 

Over the course of Shiro’s life he had woken up several times without remembering where he was and when he had fallen asleep. This was one of those times. 

After a great deal of practice, the first thing to do in such a scenario was to pretend like he was still sleeping. This would give him time to become aware of his surroundings and any impeding threats. 

Then, he had to determine if he was captured. It felt like there weren’t any restraints on him, and he was still in his armor…mostly. A weight felt like it had been lifted off his chest and head, which meant his chestplate and helmet had been removed. So that was concerning. 

The next thing to do was think back to what he last remembered. He had woken up (again not sure of where he was) on a strange planet, met some humans, gone through a portal and—must have gotten knocked out when he was fighting the woman with strange, strange powers. 

As he thought about that and prepared for his next step (slowly open eyes to determine where he was) when he felt something on his chest. It was wet, and moved in circles around his chest and down the flesh part of his arm. When it left a spot, though, the spot was just as dry as if whatever it was hadn’t been there. It felt better after it had left, like a deep tissue massage without any of the bruising.

He was waking up faster now and was able to identify a pair of voices over him. “—nothing I’ve ever seen. It seems to be designed to protect him in various pressure systems, if I were to guess.” The voice belonged to the second woman, Asami. “Maybe some deep water dives or high altitude flights. As for the arm…I can’t even begin to imagine. It’s possible he had it removed himself to improve it, or he had an accident, and was lucky enough to encounter someone with more technical experience than I have.”

“More than you?” The woman he fought, Korra, answered, “Is that even possible?”

“There are other mechanics in the world, Korra,” Asami answered, “Some, yes, with a greater ability than mine.” Korra made a noise of disbelief. “In any case, whoever made it is…beyond a master. I would love to meet them.”

“Trust me,” Shiro said, opening his eyes, “You wouldn’t.”

Korra blinked in surprise at him as she lifted up the glowing ball of water that had apparently been what was on his chest, depositing it in a nearby vase. Right. So she could control water. Well, good to know that wasn’t a dream or something. 

Trying not to seem phased or shocked, Shiro sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was in some sort of living room, looked like early 20th century design, if he remembered his history right. Actually, it looked like his grandmother’s old apartment. Asami was sitting in the corner, holding Shiro’s chestplate and helmet in her arms. 

His eyes darted to the corners of the room. The door, the windows…there were several exits available. Still, it didn’t hurt to ask. “Am I a prisoner?” he asked.

Korra and Asami exchanged a glance, clearly wondering the answer themselves. “No…” Korra said hesitantly.

Not believing her, Shiro followed up. “Can I leave?”

“I’d prefer if you didn’t,” Korra said. Shiro raised an eyebrow, questioning the contradiction in her statements. “Look, where would you go anyway?”

A fair enough point, Shiro thought. Asami put down the chestplate, handing him a set of brown clothing “I had this brought for you. I guessed the sizes, so I hope it fits.” 

Shiro wondered how long he was unconscious to have clothing bought for him. He wondered if it was a good idea to take off the remainder of his armor. But…he was clearly not going to win any battles here. And they didn’t seem to be attacking or dragging him off to the Galra, so…a calculated risk might be in order.

He excused himself to a private room and changed into the tunic and pants provided. He had to admit, it was more comfortable than his armor he had been in for who knew how long. Like the room, they seemed reminiscent of Eastern Asia, maybe even Japan, and Shiro was once again reminded of home. 

Pushing those thoughts aside, he stepped back in, where Korra and Asami were waiting, leaving a seat open for Shiro on the couch. Not sure of what else to do, he took it. “So,” Korra said, “I have no idea what’s going on. I am big enough to admit that. If I were to guess purely from observation, you have no idea what’s going on either.” Shiro hesitated, but nodded. “Right. I recommend we start from the beginning, both explain what we know and assume for the moment that neither of us is lying or hallucinating.” 

Shiro nodded. “Seems fair.” He leaned forward, “So…how do you…do that thing with water and fire and stuff…”

Korra huffed, clearly wanting to start the questioning herself, but went along with it. “It was bending. I’m the Avatar, master of all 4 elements.”

Shiro’s frown deepened. “Four elements? Like, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire?”

“Yeah.” Korra said, examining his face for his reaction. “Do you…not have those where you’re from?”

“We have them, like, physically,” Shiro said, “But there hasn’t been considered any scientific significance to them in thousands of years. Nowadays that’s more like…astrology and fiction and stuff. We use the Periodic Table now. You know, hydrogen, helium, oxygen…” They blinked, clearly not understanding. “You know what, that’s a longer discussion than we need right now, and probably not relevant. So…how did you get this…power over elements? Are there other Avatars?”

Korra took a deep breath, “Okay…speaking of long explanations…this is going to take a while.”

Korra wove for him a story about humans once living in the same world as Spirits, protected on the backs of Lion Turtles the size of large islands. She told him about a former incarnation of herself, a human named Wan who was exiled, but retained the power the Lion Turtle had bestowed on him, the power of fire. He used it and befriended the ‘dangerous’ spirits of the wild. He learned the powers of the other elements as he found the other humans, and befriended one spirit, Raava. By trying to save her, he actually endangered the world by releasing a dark spirit, Vaatu. Working with Raava, he protected the world from Vaatu, and separated the spirit world and the human world, so that humans could live in peace.

She went on to describe her own life, how she had been trained in the use of the 4 elements, saved the world a few times with the help of her friends, and ended up leaving open the spirit portals, and in fact creating a third, thus slowly reintroducing spirits and humans to each other once again.

Honestly, it sounded like a myth or a legend to Shiro, a story his parents might have told him as a child. He didn’t want to believe her…and maybe it wasn’t true, maybe she just believed it, but he promised to try and accept that what she said was real. Besides, he didn’t have another explanation for the things he had seen since he landed here. 

Now it was Shiro’s turn. 

He explained to them that on his Earth, there were no spirits, none confirmed anyway, but they did have technology to send ships into space. He told them of his mission to Kerberos, trying to find evidence of Alien life—and finding more than what they bargained for.

He may have skipped a few details about his time with the Galra, explaining that it was where he got most of his scars and his arm. He didn’t understand how it worked himself, but had something to do with Galran magic. 

He told them of his escape, returning to Earth, getting captured again, and being rescued by four teenagers. Together, they found a blue lion that took them to a pair of aliens, the Altean Princess and her assistant. The Altean’s explained that the Galra have been enslaving planets for over 10,000 years, and that they must form Voltron, a giant robot in 5 parts. The idea of a giant mecha was the one thing that didn’t seem to phase them. 

“We had a plan to defeat Zarkon for good, and…it almost worked. He had a mecha himself. We fought, and…I got my bayard back. Then we clashed and…” he trailed off. 

Korra and Asami leaned forward. “And?”

“And…nothing. I don’t remember. I woke up in that…place. The Spirit World.”

Korra took a deep breath. Clearly his story was as hard for her to believe as her story was to him, but she didn’t argue with him. “So…any theories on how you got here? Or…what exactly like…happened?” 

Shiro leaned back on the couch. “There was this alien I knew…his name was Slav. He would always go on and on about these ‘other realities.’ I…can’t pretend I completely understood, but…its kinda like, the theory that there are other dimensions, other universes that exist parallel to our own. Some are similar to our own, like…just if things happened differently. What if you chose a different outfit today, what if you lived across the street, that kind of thing. And some…some are so different they’re unrecognizable. Like that spirit world. 

Korra frowned trying to follow him. Asami took the opportunity to speak up, seeming to follow the logic slightly better. “So, you think the spirit world is an alternate reality?”

“I’m saying I think THIS is an alternate reality.” Shiro said, waving his arms around to indicate the apartment. “Or…an alternate reality from mine, anyway. That’s why we both call it ‘Earth’ but mean two different planets. I must have shifted into the spirit world, somehow, when I got hit by Zarkon, and it acted as a bridge, connecting your universe and mine.”

Korra whistled low. “Okay then…assuming you’re right…how do we get you back?”

Like air going out of a balloon, any confidence, reassurance, or optimism Shiro had about his situation left him. “I…I have no idea.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra works to keep Shiro a secret, and then grows concerned about the work he and Asami are up to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember when I said this would be updated more regularly and it still took a while? oh well, it's still sooner. And...didn't completely go to plan. but that's okay. With new seasons a lot has been changed for the fic anyway.

“Answer me plainly,” President Raiko asked, “Are. You. Harboring. An. Alien.”

Korra rolled her eyes, leaning back on her chair. She’d been avoiding Raiko for a few weeks, but he continually sent people to her house saying they were delivering messages, but actually trying to spy and get a glimpse of Shiro. Rumors about the strange man the Avatar brought from the Spirit World spread wide and fast. And Korra wasn’t sure yet how much she wanted people to know yet. At the least, Shiro had told them he didn’t want to explain himself publicly, at least not yet, and so Korra respected his wishes. 

“No,” she said emphatically. It was…technically true on some points. For one, Shiro WAS human. For two, after a few days he’d gone to stay with Mako’s family in Asami’s old mansion. But that line of reasoning was maybe not in keeping with the spirit of Raiko’s question. “That plain enough for you?”

Raiko scowled at her. It was a look Korra was overly familiar with, especially from Reiko himself. Despite appearances, they did get along more and more now that Korra was a little more grown up. She wasn’t sure if that was her own maturity or Raiko’s disrespect for her when she was young, but she had her theories. “Then who exactly WAS the Missile Man?” He snarled, “And where is he now?”

Missile Man. That was the nickname the papers had given him. And of course there had been a man with a camera watching the fight. The papers had been running the photograph for weeks, of Shiro bursting out of the ball of water and knocking Korra down. It was not a flattering image. “I’ve told you,” Korra said, impatiently, “He was a firebender who entered through the south pole, got lost, and ended up getting severely confused. He’s not the first to get lost in the spirit realm. Thank the spirits he made it out at all.” Korra took a long sip of her lemon water, holding up a finger to stop Raiko from asking any further questions, “As to where he is, once he was healed up, I sent him home. Should I have detained him for questioning?”

Raiko took a deep calming breath. Korra had that effect on people. “And what about these images?” Raiko laid out more papers, from a sleezy tabloid. On the cover was a fuzzy picture of Asami and Shiro getting out of a car and heading into Sato industries. The Tabloid was putting forward the theory that this was Asami’s newest affair, but Raiko likely knew better.

Korra glared at the photo. “That’s Asami’s new assistant. Are you going to ask about all of her employees?” Again, Korra managed to just skirt by on truth. Technically, Shiro had been working as Asami’s assistant.

“He looks an awful lot like the Missile Man,” Raiko said, scanning Korra’s face closely for any sign of clues.

Korra knew better than that, though. “What? What are you talking about, you can hardly see this guy ‘Missile Man’s face in that photo.” This was true. You could only really make out the side of his helmet, and maybe his chin as he launched himself at Korra. Korra really hated that photo. 

“Witnesses say he had a scar,” Raiko continued, “Just like Ms. Sato’s new…assistant.”

“Lots of people have scars,” Korra said, “I have several myself, are you gonna lock me away for that?”

“No one’s talking about locking anyone away,” Raiko said, his voice rising, “but if someone from another world has landed in Republic City, I deserve to know! What if there are more like him out there, just waiting to come down? What if they’re all dangerous? This one nearly took down the Avatar!”

“Okay, now that’s just a stretch,” Korra said, rolling her eyes. 

“Korra—“

“He was confused, alright?” Korra said, “He was stuck in the Spirit World a long time, he wanted to get home, and he was just confused. I talked to him once he calmed down and he was perfectly fine, and that’s why I sent him home!” Or was working to send him home anyway. But that was neither here nor there. “Now, if you please,” She stood up, chugging the lemon water, “Refreshing.”

She put it down on the counter and walked out before Raiko could ask any more questions.

Korra had her satomobile driver take her to Sato industries. She would have driven herself, but she still didn’t like driving all that much. Besides, she was the Avatar and she had a rich girlfriend, she could indulge a little on this. 

It was late at night and Asami had been working through meals for DAYS on whatever project she and Shiro were cooking up. Korra was even pretty sure she’d slept at her office, as she wasn’t there when she went to bed, and wasn’t there when she got up. Korra was determined to make sure she slept, even if she had to drag her out of that factory herself.

Walking through the factory, she heard the distant sound of screaming.

In a panic she rushed forward, practically flying off the floor to reach the source of the noise, that was definitely Asami and Shiro.

“WHAT HAPPENED?!” She yelled, bursting into Asami’s workroom.

Inside, Shiro and Asami stopped screaming…or…okay, with seeing them now, they might not have been screaming. Shiro was holding Asami in what seemed to be a celebratory hug and put her down like he’d been twirling her and cheering.

“Korra!” Asami cheered, jumping out of Shiro’s arms and running to her girlfriend. How her hair fell into perfectly messy curls even when she did nothing with it would forever be a mystery to Korra. “We did it! We found Shiro’s home!”

“What?” Korra said as Asami dripped from her neck and she desperately tried to keep her up. “Weren’t you guys saying it was in another reality or something?”

“That was my best theory,” Shiro said, “but something about your star charts was just….wrong. Like, it’s so similar in constellations to my Earth, but just a few stars are out of place. At first I chalked it up to just universal differences, but then why wouldn’t they all be just…completely different?”

“So, he helped me to design this telescope!” Asami said, excitedly pointing at the large contraption taking up most of the room and jutting out of the ceiling. Despite its large size, it was almost hidden under the piles and piles of scrap metal and wires and glass and components Korra couldn’t hope to identify.

“That’s a telescope?” Korra looked up at it, “It doesn’t look like any telescope I’ve ever seen.”

“It’s a….what did you call it?” Asami asked Shiro.

“Adaptive Optic Reflecting Laserlight Telescope,” Shiro said, “It’s a standard device back on my Earth these days. I can’t say I actually know how to build it, for that you’d need Pidge or Hunk, but I know the theory behind it from my time at the Galaxy Garrison. Asami, though, was amazing, she took my notes and actually created a design.”

“It’s incredible,” Asami said, “I never would have thought of some of these theories, not in years! Using a laser light as an artificial star to compensate of the haze in the atmosphere! We can see farther than I could have ever imagined, to planets far away!”

“Now come here and look at this,” Shiro guided her to the eyepiece, “What do you see?”

Korra squinted up to the eyepiece. “Uhhhh….a bunch of stars?”

“Those stars,” Shiro said, a brighter smile in his voice than had been there in a long while, “are in a pattern I’ve been studying since I was a child, I’ve just never seen them from this angle. That’s the Milky Way.”

“The WHAT?” Korra said, lifting her head. Who the hell names stars after milk?

Shiro chuckled, “my solar system. MY Earth.”

Korra nodded solemnly, “But...couldn’t you still be in another reality? And that’s just another version of your...way...thing?” She refuses to call it milky.

His face fell a bit. “It’s possible,” he said, “but...the readings line up so perfectly...I think there’s a good chance it is mine.”

“Can we signal them?” Korra asked.

“Maybe,” Asami said, “we’ve been thinking for a couple days of possibly building a probe to send out and get readings from. It could help us in getting a clearer idea of the universe.” 

Korra nodded and smiled. “Well, sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you—for tomorrow. Tonight, it’s time to get home and get some well deserved rest.”

Like the words were a magic spell, Asami slumped against Korra, “Oh spirits…I’m…I’m really tired.”

“I’ll say,” Korra said, half lifting her, “C’mon. Shiro, I’ll drop you off at the mansion.”

“Oh,” Shiro said, his face falling, “That’s alright, there’s still some data to collect, I’ll stay—“

“No you don’t, mister,” Korra said, “Come on, a warm bed and Grandma Yin’s food will do you good.”

Shiro slumped, but followed.

 

Shiro looked out the window of the car—or ‘Satomobile’ as they called it here—up at the night sky. He traced the constellations, looking for the extra star that was his sun. Once he found, it, though, he found it didn’t hold his interest. Instead he looked across the rest of the blank expanse, wondering where Voltron was in that vast emptiness. 

“Thinking of home?” Korra asked. Asami had fallen asleep the second her head hit the car seat. 

“Mm,” he said, “Something like that.” ‘Home’ was a weird word for him. He’d moved around enough as a kid it’s main significance was a place he could rest for the night, not the heavy emotional bonds of family and friends. 

“So, random question,” Korra asked, looking thoughtful. “Do you…do you sleep at all?”

“What?” Shiro asked, “Of course I sleep.”

“Oh,” Korra said, “I was wondering if maybe your arm like, charged your brain or something and you were nervous to tell us.”

He snorted. “How would that even work?”

Korra threw up her hands, trying to keep quiet so as not to wake her girlfriend. “I don’t know! You’re the one talking about lasers and…and milk stars and all.”

He tried to muffle his chuckling as much as he could. “Milk stars?”

“Don’t judge me, missile man.” She shot at him, throwing a piercing stare his way. He shook his head, and lay it back on the comfortable seat. “I just…you never seem tired…" she said slowly, like she was getting at something, “And Yin says she hardly sees you around at all…”

He swallowed. The truth was he had avoided the mansion and the happy family living inside as much as humanly possible, but he didn’t want to say that. They were all perfectly nice to him—overly nice—but something about it irked him the wrong way, the warmth and comfort making him cold and uncomfortable. He put the thoughts away like so many others, not analyzing, not dealing with it.

It didn’t help that the mansion was decorated vaguely like his parent’s home. 

“I’ve just…been busy.” He said, “I’m eager to get back to Voltron.”

“Not your home?” Korra asked, “I mean…YOUR Earth? With the Garrison and everything?”

Shiro smirked, thinking. “The last time I was on Earth, they strapped me down.” His mouth twitched as he saw her eyes go round, “Its possible next time I shouldn’t be unconscious and screaming about Galra.”

“Oh, so you’re entrance to our world is a typical thing with you, then?” Korra asked, earning another chuckle from Shiro. “Still, you must have something to go back to.”

His mind flickered to his home, his family for only the briefest of moments. With a soldier’s precision, he turned off that line of thinking. “I do and I will, once the threat of Zarkon is eliminated. I need to focus on getting back to my team.” 

Korra kept looking at him like she was scanning for something. Shiro didn’t know what she was looking for. “I’m sure the rest of your team can handle things for now. Didn’t you say you left your friend Keith in charge? In case something were to happen to you?”

“Keith is still young,” Shiro said, “They’re ALL young, and they’re facing a war for the whole universe that they never asked for. It’s far more than anything they should have to face, and certainly not something they should have to face alone.”

Korra was still watching him. “You know what the worst part about being the Avatar is?” She asked, sounding thoughtful. “It’s the feeling that the whole world is on your shoulders. It’s the feeling that when things go wrong, it’s all your fault, and then…it feels like the world then crushes you underneath it.” She tilted her head forward, trying to see the whole of his face. “I imagine that feeling is worse when it’s the whole universe.”

Shiro grinded his teeth, feeling more of that feeling he didn’t want to analyze “It’s what I have to do,” he said, “And I’ve been lucky. Ridiculously lucky. I was the one who made it to Earth while the rest of my team is still captured somewhere. People gave up their freedom or their lives to make sure I was safe. And after that battle I end up here, living on another Earth, in safety, while they’re still out there.” 

“You’re still young too, you know,” Korra said, “You didn’t ask for this war either, and it sounds like it’s far more than you should have to face, and certainly not something you can face alone.”

“What do you know about it?” He snapped at her.

She flinched her head back and Asami snorted in her sleep at the surprising movement. Shiro took a deep breath to calm his temper. “My duty is out there. And I’m not going to rest, not for a second, until I’m back there.”

The car pulled up to the manor. Shiro had never been more relieved to arrive, just so he might get out of the car for a while. “I’ll call tomorrow about working on the probe,” Shiro said, “Good night, Korra.”

He risked a glance back at her. Whatever she had been scanning for, she had found it. Now her gaze had only pity. “Alright,” she said softly, “And Shiro?” Shiro stood frozen, waiting. “Get some rest.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra tries to help Shiro with his stress, and figure out a way of contacting his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoa its been forever. 
> 
> Also, while this is obviously taking info from later seasons, this is an AU now, no clone, Keith doesn't go away, etc.

The funny thing about being Avatar is that when there wasn’t a crisis going on, there was actually terribly little to do. Well, no, there was always something to DO. Korra had a standing invitation at pretty much every world leaders home, and several more invitations to come to birthdays, weddings, funerals, town celebrations, and pretty much anything else, mostly for people she barely knew, or didn’t know at all.

But she didn’t find those particularly interesting. So, she went with her default state—bothering her girlfriend.

Asami was, as she usually was these days, joined by Shiro, trying to figure out how to contact his planet. If Korra didn’t recognize a word in there every once in a while, she would be convinced they were speaking a different language.

“Maybe if we send it in the direction of the outermost planet of OUR solar system, we’ll be able to use the planet’s gravity to slingshot it out to cover the expanse of void BETWEEN our star systems. That should get it in range to send a message at least.

“No…” Shiro said, eyes flitting over the chalkboard covered in ideas and theories, “It’s not enough, there’s too much space in…Space.”

Asami hummed, chewing on her pencil as she stared up at it, “Maybe we can adjust the specifications, add more fuel to the rocket so it can be released in bursts, picking up speed exponentially and making its way over to your system.”

“It would STILL take too long,” Shiro said, “And once it’s out of range of our radio, we won’t be able to send it any more signals. A million things could go wrong with it, and we’d never know!”

Asami sighed, “Well, maybe we can figure out some of this through testing it out, working on models too—“

“It doesn’t matter!” Shiro said, fuming, “It doesn’t matter how many models or formulas or anything we do, it’s just—It’s too far!!!”

“Alright,” Korra said, jumping off her perch, “That’s enough for today. Time for a break.”

“But we haven’t—“

“And you won’t do…whatever it is you need to do, by yelling at my girlfriend,” Korra said, successfully shaming Shiro into silence. “Come on, let Asami work on it for a bit, we’re gonna clear your space brain for a bit.”

Korra took him by the arm and led him outside to the field testing area behind Asami’s factory, a nice big open space. Just what the doctor ordered.

“Where are we going?” Shiro asked.

“Right here,” Korra said, “It’s time for a re-match.” Shiro frowned at her like she’d grown a second head. “We didn’t get to see properly who would have won in that fight outside the portal. So!” She raised her arms, lifting a pair of boulders, “Come at me, space man.”

The fight was practiced, slow, a steady rhythm. Neither were trying to hurt. Korra was barely putting in effort at all, it was more about gaging Shiro’s mental state. And…it wasn’t good.

Shiro punched each oncoming boulder efficiently, effectively, but it was all about brute force, natural instinct instead of trained knowledge. He was stressed, struggling, and Korra wasn’t entirely sure it was just being here that did it. “Concentrate,” She urged him, “let everything else fall away. Take a breath and use patience.”

Shiro actually managed a smirk. “Usually I’m the one telling people that,” he said, pushing forward.

“And usually other people are telling ME that,” Korra said, “Guess this is just a big old day of opposites.”

“I guess,” he said, kicking forward to gain some ground.

She switched up her attacks to fireballs. He used his shield to deflect them. “Tell me about this Zarkon guy.”

“What’s there to tell?” He said, “Once you’ve seen one evil despot bent on controlling the universe, you’ve seen them all.”

“See,” she said, tossing in a surprise boulder to try and throw him off guard, “I’ve seen plenty of evil despots, and they’re actually all quite different from one another.”

Shiro sighed, cutting through the boulder with one arm, deflecting a fireball with the other. “Well, he’s about 10,000 years old, controls an army that consumes most of the known universe,” He ducked a spear of rock sent to his head, “He has this evil witch he keeps with him, and she…is a nasty piece of work.”

“Oh?” Korra asked, using an air spiral to push herself back, gaining some more of the ground she’d lost.

“She was the one who gave me this,” he indicated his arm, “She has some kind of mind powers as well, and can set curses and….to be honest I’m not totally sure what she’s capable of.”

He was tensing up again. She was narrowing in on something. “What did she do to you?”

“She’s destroyed countless planets, turned people into monsters,” he said, taking to dodging he attacks instead of deflecting them, “Most of the Galra don’t even like her.”

“What did she do to YOU,” Korra emphasized. Shiro snarled, and Korra thought he might snap again, but he only took a breath.

“She took my arm!” Shiro said, and then softer, “I think.”

Korra stopped her attacks. “You think?”

He gave a non-committal shrug. “I don’t remember much of my year before Voltron.” He said, body seemingly relaxed, but jaw muscle jumping so high, Korra could see it across the field, “I don’t know if it’s because of something she did or—“ He cut himself off, taking another breath, struggling to keep calm. “I don’t know, ok?”

Korra tilted her head kindly at him. “My mentor, a woman named Katara, told me once that the mind is the trickiest organ in the body. A lot of the time you can’t heal it with waterbending. It’s twisted and complicated and messy, and sometimes the only way to get all that messy out is to just, let it out, let it become messy everywhere, so you can start sorting through the tangles. Otherwise it’ll build up and explode out, and you’ll never get it all back in your head.”

He frowned, “I don’t know if I understand the metaphor.”

She stepped forward cautiously, as though approaching a wild animal. “As Avatar, my job is more than just bending all four elements. My spirit itself has to remain balanced, so I can go into the spirit world, even without my physical body. When I hold in all of my pain, it poisons my spirit, keeping myself trapped in my form. I have to deal with the pain, even if it hurts, to try and get it out. It’s hard. And quite honestly it sucks,” he gave a laugh. “But it’s important. For me, and for everyone else. I can practically see the pain inside of you. If you don’t let it out, it could kill you.”

He swallowed taking a step forward himself until they were in arms reach. Before Korra could react, he grabbed her by the wrist and flipped her over. “I win,” he said.

“You dirty cheat!” She snarled, bouncing back up to try and flip him herself, “You spirits-damned cheat, I’m trying to help you here!”

He laughed, blocking her attacks. “And I appreciate it. Really, I do. It’s just---oh.”

She managed to get the advantage on him, flipping him on his back. “I win.”

He wasn’t appreciating her victory, though, just staring off into the distance. The pain turned into thinking, his wheels turning, “That spirit thing you were talking about,” He said, “Can you teach me?”

 

Korra brought Shiro to a place called the Air Temple. It was beautiful, an island separate from the city, filled with nature instead of city buildings, and air benders and acolytes instead of the busy city people. Shiro understood why Korra would want to come here for her meditating, or whatever it was they were about to do.

“So,” Korra said, “To be honest with you, astral projection is, well, a very difficult skill to master. I’ve only known Air Benders who were able to do it, and most can’t. It takes a lot of inner balance and clarity and…”

“And a lot of things I’m not particularly good at,” he finished for her, knowing what she meant.

Korra sighed, “to put it simply, yeah,” she said, “Besides that, I’ve NEVER heard of a non-bender being able to do it.”

“But I HAVE done it,” Shiro said, enjoying her surprised face. “Well, sort of. The Black Lion helped me,” he thought back to the experience, chewing on his lip. “I was sitting in the lion, on the castle ship, and he took me to see his past, and…and I fought Zarkon.”

Korra frowns, scrunching up her face as she tried to follow, “You fought…”

“He was Black Paladin before I was,” Shiro said, “He was able to track the Black Lion across whole Galaxies, and he did it with his mind. If I’m right, I think it’s with the same principal as your astral projection thing.”

She nodded, skeptically. “Sure, the 10,000 year old monstrous dictator with unknown powers was able to do it, so why not?” He gave her a flat look. “Sorry, just…all this space stuff is new to me.”

“All this spirit stuff is new to me,” Shiro shrugged, “So I guess we’re even.”

Korra sighed and sat cross-legged. “Alright, we’re going to start with some simple meditation stuff first. Do you have meditation on your Earth.”

“We do, in fact,” Shiro said, mirroring her, “Of course, I was never really partial to it, myself. It always kinda seemed boring.”

She smirked, “Trust me, it is,” she said, “But it is important.” She took a breath and closed her eyes. “Now just, relax. Calm your mind, sit up, and let the rest of the world fall away.”

They sat like that, for minutes or hours, Shiro couldn’t tell. He did not feel his mind clearing, but he felt his back starting to ache. He didn’t dare move, just breathing in sync with Korra. He focused on that space he’d been in with the Black Lion, the quiet, the battle.

He wanted to ask how long they’d been sitting there, and how much longer they would do this for. He knew that would disrupt what they were doing, though, so he didn’t, and just sat quietly, the perfect soldier. Patience yields focus, he told himself.

While he had given those words like a mantra to Keith, to try and curb his slightly destructive impulses, it had first been for himself. He preferred DOING things to progress, feeling the work in his hands as he moved towards his goal, one goal accomplished, and then the next, and the next, like a shark who refused to stop moving, for fear of dying.

“Ok,” Korra said after a while, “I think that’s enough for today.”

Shiro frowned, looking at her, “But we didn’t do anything.”

Korra shrugged, holding out a hand to help her up. “Gotta learn to walk before you can run.”

Shiro huffed, but followed her to be taken back off the island. Patience yields focus, he repeated to himself, patience yields focus, patience yields focus.

 

They did that for WEEKS. After the third day, Shiro confronted her, “Am I doing something wrong?” He asked on the boat ride home, “Am I not concentrating enough? Or concentrating too much? Something?”

Korra shrugged, “I don’t know, are you?”

Shiro scoffed, not even sure how to respond to that. “You’re the Avatar, aren’t you? Isn’t this like your specialty.”

She tried to hide it, but he saw her damn lips curled up. There was a part of her enjoying his confusion. “Avatar, not mind reader. I don’t know what’s going on in your head, only you do.”

“That’s incredibly annoying,” he said. She nodded, almost gleeful.

Some days she brought things with her, a singing bowl, a bonsai tree, even a spirit to sit beside him. Some days she brought him to a different place, a quiet room, a park, a beach, Asami’s lab, his own room, etc. Some days they’d forego the meditation all together and just talk. Korra would ask him about Voltron, the Galra, the Garrison, anything and everything. He tried to answer as best he could.

Patience yields focus, he’d repeat in his head every day. It was a learning process, even if it didn’t feel like they were getting anywhere, these were necessary steps he was taking. Patience yields focus.

His patience was starting to wear thin.

One day she sat in front of him, back at the air temple, and smiled benignly. “Tell me about your parents.”

He sighed. This was going to be a talking day. It’s not like he was an overly quiet person but he didn’t much like talking about himself. “There’s not much to tell. They passed away when I was very young, I don’t remember them much beyond flashes, moments. Nothing substantial.”

She hummed, in what might have been sympathy, or just a neutral comment on the situation. “Who raised you?”

“My grandmother,” he said, “On my dad’s side. Sweet but strict, and always encouraging me. She managed to see me graduate from the Garrison before she passed away.” It wasn’t a story he enjoyed telling. Shiro the orphan boy…he never felt like an orphan. Of course he missed them, he cried at his Grandmother’s funeral, but she had been old and ill, it wasn’t unexpected. They had said everything to each other that needed to be said. He was an adult, fully grown, with a life of his own by that point. It wasn’t a sad tale.

“Who did you have with you after that?”

He shrugged, “Friends. Colleagues. Students. The Garrison was full of people, I was hardly ever lonely.”

“Who were you closest to?”

He flinched as the faces crossed his mind, like accusations. “Commander Sam Holt,” Shiro said, “He was…he was my mentor. His son, Matt, was my best friend.” He swallowed, trying not to see Matt’s face in his mind, tried not picture the last time he had seen him, scared and alone and like he was about to die. “And then there was…”

The name fell off his lips, like a dream where he couldn’t speak. His breath left him, and he realized he was shaking. He swallowed, then inhaled deep through his nose to calm himself down. As he did, he felt Korra, watching him, the same way Asami or Pidge would watch one of their experiments.

She scooted closer to him, taking his hand, “The people in our lives are the ones who offer us connection, stronger than places, stronger than anything. That connection is what allows you to travel through your spirit.”

He swallowed, “Last time it was the Black Lion—“

“The Black Lion seems like a person to you,” she said, “You care about him, but it isn’t enough, it isn’t STRONG enough, not to do on your own.” He shuddered in her grasp. “Tell me, have you tried projecting yourself yet?”

“You haven’t told me how,” he said, stubbornly.

She smirked, “that wasn’t an answer.”

He sighed, “yes.”

She nodded like it was what she expected. “What do you do when you try?”

Shiro inhaled, thinking through the steps. “I concentrate. Focus on the black lion and like, imagine myself flying through space to find it, sit in my pilot’s seat, etc.”

She nods, thinking. “This time,” she said, “I want you to imagine a different person, someone you’re closest to. It doesn’t matter who, they don’t have to be alive,” she said, obviously thinking of his grandmother, “it’s not about going to them or pretending you’re flying or whatever. Just focus on that connection between you two, let that be your center.”

He nodded, thinking. Honestly, thoughts of his grandmother just made him feel sad, not only over family lost, but his culture as well. Sam and Matt only made him feel tremendous guilt, a feeling of failure as he couldn’t save them from the fate that consumed them all. Then...Adam.

It was the strongest connection he had, maybe the strongest with anyone in the universe. But there was loss there as well, and pain and guilt and just...everything that sent him spiraling, everything about why he couldn’t think of Earth anymore, why he stayed focused on his task, why he couldn’t look back.

“Breath,” Korra reminded him, “maybe pick someone else?”

Someone else? There was only one other person he was close to, really close to, and that was Keith. His fellow Paladin, his protege, his brother in all but blood.

Keith found him, just as he found Keith. Keith was just like him when he was younger, maybe a bit tougher on the edges. He was his pick for Black Paladin if something happened to him, the only one who would stand up to him, think of the mission like him, have the instincts to get through the challenges of space like he did. He would not leave Keith behind, not again. 

“Good,” Korra said, “now take my hand.” 

He did, and the world bursted into blue-white light, swirling with purples and blacks, shooting him far from himself. He opened his eyes, not seeing the island, but the spirit world, covered in bright colors and wild shapes. He was standing, though didn’t remember getting up. Korra was standing opposite him, eyes glowing blue, face void of emotion. Her head tilted upward toward the sky, and he followed her gaze. 

They moved without moving, up into the sky, past the highest tree tops, through the strange shaped clouds and the wind, past a woman with white hair who stood in the sky where the moon should be.

Then, the world became as Shiro had seen this plane before, void, quiet, blank. There was no sense of landmarks, and yet Shiro knew somehow they were moving.

A speck appeared in the distance. Shiro And Korra flew closer and closer to it until they could make out the Black Lion.

 

Light years away, Keith startled from his sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith knows he received a message from Shiro, but he needs to convince his teammates...and figure out how to get the message again.

“I Know what I saw,” Keith said, stubbornly, his arms crossed and his face set. “It was Shiro, the real Shiro, reaching out for me. He spoke to me!”

The others all looked to each other, none of them wanting to say what they were thinking, but Keith could guess just looking. He was crazy, he was just dreaming, he wanted Shiro back so badly he had imagined it. All of those were thoughts he’d had himself, but he knew...he KNEW that feeling, that had been Shiro, his friend. He was sure of it.

As was per usual for the paladins, they turned to Lance, the designated ‘Keith handler’ whenever he started getting a little too off the rails. Now that Keith was Black Paladin, and Lance his second, anyway. Lance sighed, looking pityingly at him. “What did he say?” Lance asked simply, not shooting him down right away. 

Keith swallowed, grateful. “My name,” Keith said, “It was like...like he was just trying to get my attention. There was more of a feeling than anything, a sense of urgency. He wants to be found! He could be in trouble, we have to find him.”

Lance nodded slowly, analytically. “Where?”

That had Keith stumped, “Huh?”

“Did he tell you where he was?” Lance said, “Space is kinda big, so like, if there was a general direction or something we can check out, that would be helpful.”

Keith’s stubbornness went out of him like air from a balloon. He was so busy thinking of arguments to convince them, he wasn’t sure about his next step. “Maybe he’ll contact me again,” Keith said, “Tell me his location.”

Lance nodded again, thinking. He turned to Coran and Allura. “Is there any way we can like...monitor his dreams? Confirm this really is Shiro?”

“We can hook him up to a stasis pod,” Coran said, “extract his memory, with his permission of course. With a few adjustments, we should be able to see what he sees.”

“Perfect,” Keith nodded, “Hook me up.” A small part of him couldn’t even believe he was advocating for this. He hated confined spaces, and trusting weird alien technology, and the stasis pod was one of the worsts. He had to go in it after his Marmora trials, and it left him feeling cold and tired.

“Hold your horses there, cowboy,” Pidge said, “If we don’t see Shiro, we’ll just be seeing your dreams, no matter what they are. You sure you’re up for that?” 

That DID make Keith pause. He was a private person in the best of times, And while he didn’t dream anything weird, and he TRUSTED his friends, it was...a lot. 

“I’ll monitor him,” Lance said, “By myself. And I’ll alert you guys if something comes up.”

Keith hesitated. If anyone was going to see his dreams he...well, he wanted it to be Shiro. But Lance was a possible second option. “We’re going to have to have a serious ban on any teasing, any at all on anything you might see.”

“Aww,” Lance fake whined, “Not even just to you? I won’t tell anyone else!”

“No.” Keith put his foot down, and Hunk slapped Lance upside the head with a laugh. 

Lance snorted, “Fine, fine. I won’t tease you about your weird sex dreams.” Keith rolled his eyes and started heading to the stasis pods. “Whoa, where are you going? Shiro’s message came to you at night. No reason to think he won’t do that again.” 

Keith sighed, impatient. He wanted to go look for Shiro NOW but knew Lance was right. “Meanwhile,” Lance said, “If I’m going to be staying up all night, I’m gonna catch some Z’s. See y’all, have fun at training.”

The remaining paladins rolled their eyes and sighed. 

 

Keith opened his eyes, shivering as he stepped out of the stasis chamber. “Anything?” He asked before he even took in his surroundings.

“Sorry, nothing,” Lance said, wrapping Keith in a blanket, “Just things about desert, space, desert. That guy Rolo keeps coming up, got a crush?”

“Lance…”

“Not teasing!” Lance said, bringing Keith over to the breakfast table, “Just commentary.”

Keith settled into his chair, and Lance made them both plates of goo. It had been days since his vision from Shiro, sleeping each night in a stasis pod with Lance standing guard, and still, no more sign of Shiro. “Maybe it was just a dream,” he muttered quietly, not wanting to admit his thought. 

“Mm,” Lance said, “Maybe. But you don’t really strike me as the ‘chasing dreams’ kinda guy,” Lance said.

Keith smirked. “Not really,” he said, “Not for a long time now.”

Lance licked his lips, thinking, “Keith there’s one dream I wanted to talk to you about. It’s...it’s come up a few times actually.”

“Lance--”

“Not teasing,” he said again, putting up his hands in surrender, “it...it was a guy. Older than you, but looked a lot like you.” Keith kept his eyes down, guessing where this was going. “There was...a lot of fire?”

Keith nodded, slowly. “I didn’t actually see it,” he said, “Just heard about it. Imagined it.” He took a deep sigh, feeling Lance’s pity. “It’s ok, really. I met Shiro, and he vouched for me to the Garrison. It worked out, eventually.”

“And then he disappeared,” Lance finished, “Twice now.”

Keith felt a pinprick of hot water boil up in his eye, but he closed them until the feeling went away. “Yeah, well,” he said, taking a small bite of his goo, “He came back once. I was thinking...hoping...he could do that again.”

Lance nodded, then suddenly stood, grabbing Keith’s arm. “Hey!” Keith protested, getting dragged from his food. “What are you doing?”

“Come on,” Lance said, “As your second in command, I decree that you need a sleeping-in day. Just an hour or two of extra rest.” He smirked at Keith, “I’ve got a good feeling this morning.” 

Keith couldn’t help but smile back, and stepped back into his stasis pod. “Just an hour,” he said, “We’ve got team training today, and you’re not getting out of it again.” 

“Yeah, yeah,” Lance said, closing the door, “Sweet dreams, Mullet.” He pushed the button, and Keith slipped into unconsciousness.

 

He was in a room, he didn’t really recognize, and there was a dog in his lap. It was hard to tell what kind of dog, but they were really fluffy and slobbery and licking his face. “Aww hi there,” he said, petting the dog. The dog licked his face more, “Where did YOU come from?”

The dog got up and walked away, “Hey, come back!” Keith called, but the dog was gone. He was about to get up and follow when he noticed something in his lap. 

Puppies. The dog had her puppies in his lap. “What the--” he looked around, holding one of them up. They were impossibly small, with little eyes and ears nuzzling into his palm. “What, I can’t! I can’t hold these! I don’t know anything about caring for puppies!”

He gathered the puppies up into his arms, all squirming around trying to get loose, “Come back!” Keith called, looking for the mother dog, “That bitch,” he said, not able to find her. 

He walked through void space, and found his way in the black lion’s hangar. He saw a purple light inside, and walked towards it. 

“Keith,” he heard a voice, distantly, “Keith!” 

 

In the waking world, Lance was chowing down on green goo as he watched the dream monitor (dreamonitor), and hearing some of his compatriots come down for Breakfast. “He’s still in there?” Hunk said, passing by with a yawn. 

“Just catching some extra z’s,” Lance said, “Nothing to---” He paused at the sight of the purple light on the monitor. It started to take form. 

“Lance?” Hunk asked, “Everything all-”

“Get everyone down here, now!” he shouted, staring with all his intensity, as though the image would dissipate if he didn’t maintain eye contact. “Now!” 

He heard Hunk skitter off, and he pressed record on this dream.

 

“Shiro?” Keith said, rushing forward. The puppies had disappeared. “Is it you? It’s really you?”

Shiro smirked, “It’s me.” 

Keith ran forward and captured him in a hug, “I thought we lost you.”

“I was lost, for a while,” Shiro said, “But I found some help.” He nodded behind Keith. Keith turned to see a glowing blue woman standing before him. Keith frowned, “She’s a friend,” Shiro explained, “She’s human, but...it’s hard to explain.”

Keith nodded, not particularly interested in how this was happening, but what to do next. “Where are you? How can we find you?”

“I’ve been trying to figure that out,” He said, and the void around them filled with stars, “These are what I can see around me, according to the planning out I’ve been doing. I think I’m just a solar system or two away from Earth. Which, is convenient.”

Keith smirked, “Would be more convenient if you were here. Can you make it to us?”

Shiro shook his head, “the people here aren’t capable of space travel yet, but they’re...interesting doesn’t begin to describe. I think it’s worth checking out, but they are friendly.”

Keith nodded, “We’ll find you, Shiro,” he said, “We’re on our way.”

 

The void dissipated, and Shiro returned to an unused room at Sato Industries, sitting across from Korra. He broke into a smile, as her eyes stopped glowing and returned to normal. “Did you hear?” he said, “We broke through! We finally broke through!”

“You did,” Korra said, “I powered you up, but you were the one to do all the hard work.”

Shiro sighed leaning back, “They’re really coming.”

“Now you won’t be stranded on this backwater planet forever, huh?” Korra said, standing up and stretching.

Shiro chuckled, “Well, I guess it’s not ALL bad,” He said, “Some good friends here, at least.”

Korra smirked, and helped him stand. 

The door clicked quietly, and Asami entered, “Sorry, don’t want to disturb you if you’re still doing stuff.”

“It’s alright, we’re done for the day,” Korra said, “What’s up?”

“So, I know you told me not to,” Asami said looking a little ashamed, “Which is why I didn’t tell you before, but I’ve been looking a little more into Kuvira’s spirit vine research.” Korra inhaled sharply, “I know, I know!” She said, waving her hand frantically, “But it really is very powerful. And I, you know, asked the spirits first. And the thing started charging itself, so I think that was a ‘yes.’” She smiled weakly.

Korra still didn’t seem very approving, but Shiro had no idea what either of them were talking about, “I’m sorry,” he said, “Who’s Kuvira, and what’s her ‘spirit vine’ research?”

“She was an attempted dictator,” Korra said, “Who drained spirits of their energy to power her weapons.”

Shiro’s eyebrows raised, “Sounds familiar.”

“Anyway,” Asami said, “The point is, I had the idea that it might be able to boost our broadcasting signal from the probe, and I think it will work, it’s ready to launch into space now. If your friends come within several lightyears of it, they should be able to contact us.”

Shiro brightened further, “Amazing, Asami,” he said, “Really, I can’t thank either of you enough for all you’ve done.”

Korra patted his shoulder, “Well, looks like your friends will be here within a few days, hopefully,” she said, “What do you want to do in your last days on Earth?”

Shiro sighed, thinking, “To be honest,” he said, “What I really want is a nap.”

Korra and Asami laughed. 

 

“Commander,” the Galran soldier called over, “We’re picking up a signal on long-range sensors.”

“Is it from the Emperor?” Commander Lopak asked, “Or perhaps an intercepted signal from the rebels?”

“Neither, sir,” the soldier said, “I can’t tell the origin, but it’s coming from a probe launched in sector 2587. It’s broadcasting a video message.”

Lopak frowned, thinking. “Put it on viewscreen.”

A human male’s face appeared, and Lopak recognized him as the Champion. “To anyone who can hear this message, my name is Takashi Shirogane of Earth, Black Paladin and Leader of Voltron. If you are capable, please send Voltron a message that I am stranded on a planet in this sector. Voltron, if you get this, come pick me up.”

Lopak grinned, “So, the Black Paladin is stranded on a primitive planet. Interesting, very interesting.”

“That’s not the most interesting thing about the message, sir,” his soldier said, “Look at these readings. This probe is powered by a highly purified form of Quintessence. This much rarified might take the Druids a whole planet to collect.”

“Where did a primitive planet obtain so much pure quintessence?” Lopak said, reading over the results over and over.

“I don’t know,” the soldier said, and gave Lopak a grin, “But I bet the Emperor would reward anyone who found out.”

Lopak traded grins with him. “I like the way you think,” he said, “Set a course for the probe, let’s see what the Champion has found.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this series wasn't really supposed to be Klance, but if you'd like to read klance into this, be my guest

**Author's Note:**

> Let us know what you think! here are the links to our blogs again:  
> [keelan-666](http://keelan-666.tumblr.com/)  
> [dork-empress](http://dork-empress.tumblr.com/)


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